More Sports In Brief

GEORGETOWN, Guyana:The West Indies Cricket Board announced yesterday that the local organising committee of the Regional Under-19 Tournament has changed the venues for three matches in the one-day competition currently taking place.

First, the third-round match between hosts Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago carded for today will now be played at Bourda Oval. Second, the fourth-round match between T&T and Jamaica scheduled for Saturday will now be played at the Demerara Cricket Club. And finally, the seventh and final-round match between Windward Islands and Jamaica set for Wednesday, August 13, will also be played at Bourda Oval.

Guyana team loses in CCL

PROVIDENCE (CMC):Guyana's Alpha United failed in their bid to protect home turf when Alberth Elis struck in the first half to give visiting Olimpia a 1-0 win in their 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League opener on Tuesday night at the Guyana National Stadium.

Alpha put Olimpia under pressure early in the match, but the visitors gradually wore down their opponents and the 18-year-old Elis, who scored for Honduras against Panama last month in Central American qualifying for the 2015 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, netted the game's only goal in the 17th minute.

The result means that the Lions, as Olimpia are also known, are now unbeaten in eight of their last 10 games in the competition.

Webb ends refereeing career

LONDON (AP):English Premier League referee Howard Webb, who took control of the 2010 World Cup final, has been appointed technical director of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), ending his 25-year refereeing career. Webb refereed his first Premier League match in 2003 and also took charge of the 2010 Champions League final where Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0.

"I have spent over a decade with the best seat in the house for Premier League matches (and) been lucky enough to be involved in nine UEFA and FIFA tournaments," Webb said.

His new role at the PGMOL will see him sharing his experience through developing and training referees in England.

"Refereeing has given me so much, and it's important that match officials who have had the rewards remain in the game to pass on their knowledge," he said.

Best of Jamaica, Guyana fight card

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):Officials hope that a card scheduled for August 30 featuring some of Guyana's best against the best of Jamaica will help revitalise the sport of boxing in the country. Officials of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control announced that four fights have been carded for the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The main event of the evening will bring together Guyana's Derrick Richmond and Jamaica's Sakima Mullings, winner of last April's 'Contender' series, in a fight scheduled for eight rounds in the junior-welterweight division.

The first bout on the card will feature Winston Pompey and Kamal Russell of Jamaica in the middleweight division.

In the bantamweight division, the underrated Dexter Marques, aka "The Magic Kid", will face Richard Williamson in a bout that is scheduled for six rounds.

The third bout on the card will be another junior-welterweight bout between Iwan Azore and Dexter Gonzales over eight rounds.

Bahamas' Ferguson appointed Cougars' sprint coach

HOUSTON, Texas (CMC):Sprint legend Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie will transport her knowledge and expertise to the University of Houston. The university announced that the Bahamian has been hired as the women's sprint and hurdles coach. She heads to the Cougars from Southern Mississippi, where she spent the last year.

"It feels like a fairy tale," said McKenzie. "Like something you read in a book. But it's real life. I'm looking forward to learning from the staff. I grew up watching (head coach) Leroy Burrell and now I'm hired by him and he's my boss and colleague. It's a dream come true."

She added: "I want us to work hard, but also have fun. Our goal as a team is to be number one. It won't be easy, but we have to keep pushing."

Ferguson-McKenzie was a specialist at the 100 and 200 metres sprints, representing the Bahamas in five Olympic Games - Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 - and was a three-time Olympic medallist and four-time medallist at World Championships.

She was also part of the Bahamas 4x100 women's relay team, affectionately known as 'The Golden Girls', which won gold at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain, and the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.